The Washington National Opera has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the Kennedy Center to turn over more than $17 million in donations that the organization says is being withheld by the arts center.
The WNO announced in January that it was moving performances away from the Kennedy Center, terminating a 15-year relationship to produce operas there. In a statement, the WNO said that the separation was “at the Kennedy Center’s own suggestion.”
Over the years, the Kennedy Center managed donations made through the center to the opera company.
When it separated from the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera said that the Kennedy Center has since refused to turn over the donations made to them.
The lawsuit filed Thursday claims that during their affiliation, the Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center “always remained separate legal entities.” It also states that the funds being managed by the Kennedy Center for them, belonged to the Washington National Opera and not to the Kennedy Center.
“These funds represent years of gifts from loyal supporters who gave specifically to
advance WNO’s mission, its performances, its artists, and its education and community programs,” the company said in a statement. “WNO has a fiduciary responsibility to its donors to ensure their contributions are honored and used as intended to support the work of WNO’s artists and its programs.”
The company said that it “spent months attempting to resolve this matter privately.” Attempts included “repeated meetings and a formal request for mediation” before filing the lawsuit.
In a statement the Kennedy Center denied the allegations in the lawsuit, arguing that its longstanding agreement with the opera company created a significant financial strain on the institution.
“The exclusive WNO contract financially burdened the Center for more than a decade,” said Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations. Daravi said an analysis by accounting group BDO calculated that the opera company accumulated a $72 million deficit to the Center between 2011 through 2026, after accounting for WNO’s endowment.
Daravi said the Kennedy Center made multiple proposals to address the issue but accused WNO of failing to participate in “good-faith discussions” and that its former artistic director Francesca Zambello undermined coordination between the two organizations.
She said the Center will countersue the opera company.
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